Tech talk #3: 4 common causes of lack of air flow out dash vents 

This is my first time watching your channel. All the info you gave us was exactly what I needed to hear. You said stuff that I never even thought of. New subscriber here. Thank you so much. You have helped me more than you know.

Just want to say thank you for posting all these videos. I've learned a lot from you. I'm going to be replacing my Recirc. Actuator on my 16 Ram tomorrow morning. The four-part video you put out on the 5500 evaporator was very helpful. The only difference is I have a floor console. Already subscribed.

Thanks for your expertise when it comes to MOPAR - and other vehicles that may have this problem. I've found a one year cycle for replacing my air cabin filter works. Other parts of the country may go more - or less, but this part is relatively inexpensive compared to a service call.

I have a 2008 Ram. No air flow thru the system. Everything checked out, but something was blocking the flow. I took the fan out and reached up inside to the evaporator. I could feel the crud covering it. My fingers had black sludge all over. Used a little brush to clean, but not good enough, so I took the wand part off of a garden sprayer and fished the handle up inside there to wash it out. Brush wash brush wash. Now I have good air flow! Thank you for the inspiration

This totally 100% helped me this morning. Thank you very much!! I thought my AC was going out. Step 1 blower motor noises good. Step 2 check air filter - good luck finding it but once I did BOOM air at all speeds in all vents!! Thank You Thank You 🌟

2019 and you just saved my summer! My cabin air filter was totally clogged with dust and junk. Thanks!

Thanks for the help! I was getting fan blow, but no air through the vents. It was the cabin filter. Almost stopped blowing immediately. Thanks for the video and advice !

Great video! I will say now my cabin air filter was worse than that. It was almost completely black/dark gray. No one has ever mentioned changing it. I've owned the car for 5 years and never changed it. Possibly previous owner of 3 years never did also. The ridges were so thick lol, the whole thing was heavy compared to the new one. Now I know to change it once a year. Unfortunately my dash vents were not blowing air out after changing it. I heard a loud clicking sound one day trying to defrost my dash window and im thinking the door broke because I heard It trying to change directions multiple times before it started to just blow out on the face/front vents.

Excellent video and great information. Thank you and keep up the great work!

Had no idea my wife's Jeep had a PCAF. Removed it and the air flow is back to normal. Thank you

Man my wife works on a dusty road and, our AC in her car has been messed up for a looooong time. I just watched your video which led me to another video that showed me how to change out my cabin air filter and, thank you so much!! I just can't express how thankful I am.

Great Video. Worth watching. Thank you Richards Auto and Air

Good video, lots of helpful info, I live in eastern Washington, and work on a farm, so #1 cause of low air flow mud on evap core...

Man, thank you so much for the video. You just saved me some$$. Thanks again

Great video, very informative 👍🏼

Great, to the basics, thanks.

My vents or doors in my Prius didn't work blowing AC in the car. Changed the cabin air filter, it was dirty and the air flows out the vents. Thanks for sharing this on RU-vid.

A big help thank you.

Thanks for the video, Nobody ever talks about mice getting into the cabin filter eating it up and clogging the blower motor up so bad that it goes past the motor onto the evaporator core!

Thanks great video 👍

Clear and to the point. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!!

I just purchased a 2012 Nissan NV passenger van today from a private owner. The ac is cold but it does not blow hard. The fan increases speed and seems to be working good. Checked the blend doors and everything is working. The cabin filter is missing. The previous owners lived on a dirt road and a farm. There was so much dust and dirt all over the ac box and dash. Its gotta be a clogged evaporator. The rear ac fan is not working either. Gonna check it out tomorrow. Thanks for the video.

WOW never seen that much dust/mud on a ac evap before. Nit a lot of dust where I live mostly mud. Good reason to use the recirculation mode though when I am on a dusty road each August in our dry month.

Very good info to have! '13 Malibu, air only comes out the main cabin vents no matter which direction i try to set it at, except one setting blows it out the floor and main vent, but never the windsheild vent (I live in canada, so i need them for frost a lot). When i switch the direction setting, it does TRY to switch, the air does sound like it's slows to switch to the new setting, but then right back to mainly the cabin vent.

Helpful

Priceless ❤️❤️❤️💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💯💯💯💯

Just recently my 2 center console vents all but quit blowing air out while the other 2 outside vents near the doors are blowing out full air. What could cause the restriction in the center vents?

Nice video

Thanks Jazz Hands.

Well eplained it. Buen trabajo. pero sigo buscando algun video donde cambies el AC Compressor del 2005 Grand Cherokee.

I just watched your Dodge Ram Diesel dash removal and realized that is a job for someone with a little more time and experience than I have, but I like to troubleshoot problems. I have a 2011 Dodge Ram 1500 and when I have the A/C on first two levels (Low & Low/Moderate) I barely get any airflow. But, when I switch it to the last two levels (Moderate/High & High) I get a brief blast of air for maybe 5 seconds at most and then it stops blowing as hard, but still considerably more than the bottom two levels. I thought maybe it might be the cabin air filter, but there wasn’t one (which I quickly remedied). I replaced the regular air filter as well just in case. Neither helped out the situation. I don’t hear any clicking sounds or anything that would suggest the recirculate door is broken. I noticed the part that moves up and down above the cabin air filter appears to be functioning. I wasn’t sure if there was another part there I wasn’t seeing that could be blocking the flow of air. Ideas besides a clogged condenser? It seems odd it would start off strong and fade within seconds. Thanks for putting out such solid content for hopeless handymen like myself.

Thanks a lot for posting this. I have been wandering on youtube for a video regarding this particular topic in vain. 2008 Ford Edge with Dual HVAC. Sorry for the book im about to write in detail because I wanna make it easy for you to understand my issue. At first, my heater core hoses did not feel right so I flushed it with boiling water yesterday. Today, I checked inlet and outlet hoses and both were hot this morning. The heater is blowing through the vent but not as hard as it should be. Eventually the cabin becomes hot but the lack of vent airflow bothers me. I has already started to blame the blend door actuators so I stripped the car and im now facing the dashboard! However, the actuators are not clicking so they must be fine? I notice no movement of the actuators when looking at them while operating the HVAC but I can hear alledged door movements ans change of flow. I connected my snapon to the AC module but no wayto control the actuators so I dont know what I am seeking now. I notice as I was under the driver side dash that the heater was blowing hard towards the feet like it should through the vent & this no matter what mode I set. Nevertheless, when I switched from heater to air, the flow through the vent was strong so this weak airflow occurs only when I switch the heat on. Lastly, it feels less hot on the passenger side. If you could point me in a direction, that would give a huge kick because all is apart in the car and I plan to get on it tomorrow again. Right now, im just trying to figure out how to remove the dash without breaking any tabs. 2008 Ford Edge limited with dual HVAC. Thanks in advance.

Good information I have 2012 ram 3500 just learned it didn't have a cabin filter looked @ condensor and it's exactly like you had showed Question how long does it take to replace ? Also what's the approximate cost of condensor?

Hey Rich I am here!

Thank you. I have a 2010 Lincoln Town Car that is NOT equipped with a cabin air filter, but my 2001 Ford Taurus is (?!?!?!).I replaced everything, but the evaporator. The compressor went, and I picked up/installed a kit from Rockauto (Compressor/Condenser/Filter-dryer/Orifice tube), and replaced the high pressure hose, as the schrader valve was leaking on it. The A/C is nice and cold, but the dash airflow is not as good as it should be. The dash vents are working as they should, so that leaves the possibility of the Evaporator being clogged. I will check that in the next few days.

The outside air filter is behind the glove box . There’s 2 White plastic pins that need to slide in order to remove glove box . This will be a hard challenge but they will slide . Now the filter door, it’s hard to release the 2 fasteners, can be done, of course all is plastic, be careful and stuck with it .

I have a 96 grand cherokee and it has very low air flow especially when going highway speeds. The blower motor sounds like it's working, what would this be?

Hello and thanks for the videos. You know a lot about air conditioning systems. My 04' Dodge Ram 1500 has a problem with A/c. It blows out the drivers side cool, but the passenger side it is warm. Please tell me what is wrong. Thanks for all the help you do.

Hello I’m so glad I came across ur video. My situation. I have a 2014 Toyota Camry XLe. There seems to be no air flow coming out through the vents. I changed the cabin air filter because it was dirty. The air finally came out through the vents. Then when I turned the car off again it stopped. I kicked (hit) the area under the blower motor and it came back on. So everytime I start my car I need to hit that are and it turns on. Do I need to replace blower motor? Can’t be relying on hitting the area for it to start. Please help. With these heavy rains in cali I need my air flowing .

Some cars (thanks Toyota) where there is no cabin air filter, they have a screen before it gets to the front vents that gets clogged. It is not serviceable, you have to remove the vents and rip the screen out...

I have a 01 Chevy Suburban and only my REAR vents work, not the front. My defrost doesn't work either. Would that be caused by this same issue? Or would it be something else? I had no issue out of my ac/heat and one-day last week I got in my truck and turned the heat on to warm my truck before I left the house and it made a loud weird scraping-like noise. Like hard plastic rubbing together. And it only made that noise after I turned my power/blower switch on to get the heat blowing. Any info would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for posting these videos, they help so many people out!

My ac works fine but sometimes on longer trips hour+ starts blowing out the vent less. I’ll turn the fan speed up and I can hear the fan go faster and the air out the vent goes faster but not as hard as it should. I’ll cut the car off for a while get back in and it’ll start blowing normal until another longer trip

I have a 2013 Ram 2500 with the dual climate system. I have good heat and air flow on the passenger side but on the drivers side the air flow on center dash vent is weak, and the vent by the door barely blows at all. Can feel a bit of warmth but not much. Would that be the evaporator or a blend door? Thanks!

Is there a blower upgrade you can do to get the air lost by adding the cabin filter kit from Genos?

How work The blender door in dodge Ram?

i have an 02 avalanche and all the vents and ac working perfectly....except for the front vents. could it be a fuse?

I'm having an issue with my AC to where it blows wonderfully cold, then all of the sudden it sounds like it blows out up at rhe defroster only, yet very little air is coming out of any vent on the inside, and it gets very hot. I turn it off and wait a few hours. Most times it works like normal, sometimes I have to wait a while longer. And I have gotten to where I run it on recirc only. Suggestions?

Hello sir, what if air flow hot/cold flowing on drivers center/side and floor vents but not on passenger side

I have a Ford Focus 2013 model, currently my standard vent won't flow good air but the floor, and window dash will flow fine. It does this mainly when its hot outside.

so i have a 2011 nissan titan the heater works good but i cant get it to blow air to the floor vents what do you think the problem is

2014 ram 2500. What would cause the ac clutch not to turn on ... good freon. Good fuses. What else tells the the ac to kick on ?

What if my air blows cold but only in the back cabin of my 2004 Chevy Silverado 1500? I can feel air coming out my middle vent but it's not coming out hard. Any thoughts before I bring it to a mechanic?

i have a whole different issue. defrost on windshield setting when it’s cool air the air flow is strong but when i turn it to max heat the airflow is a lot lower on the passenger side only. the driver side still has good air flow. i’m not sure why the air flow is reduced on the side when i have the heat on max setting. this also only happens when i have fresh air mode selected to defrost windows. if i use max hear with recirculation mode the passenger side has good air flow.

I suspect my 05 Pathy has a dirty cabin air filter. Gonna change it and see if it helps. The blower works, just little to no air coming out of vents. I suspect it has never been changed. I'll do it myself. The Stealership wants $80. Nope.

Got a 96 chevy k1500 blower motor is fine but at 2 highest setting or after a period of time on the lower ones I can hear a for lack of a better word thump and I'll lose air flow all together while the blower motor is still going. I have to turn off the air for a minute and redo the process it's the same result. I have cleaned out the housing and vent duct best I can around the blower motor area but that hasnt fixed the problem. Any other thoughts on something I could be missing?

Question: My 1994 Mazda b4000 SE 4wd ac will freeze you out of the vehicle on little trips around town but if I go 30 minutes or more it barely puffs out of all the vents. My blower motor is working on all 4 positions but there is very little air coming out of the vents no matter if it's on max, defrost, panel, floor and panel, etc. I thought there might be trash blocking the vents but #1 there isn't a cabin filter and #2 I read that there is a screen mesh under the cowl vents to prevent trash from getting near the blower. Thoughts?? Also, where would the AC evaporator be on this vehicle?

We just replaced my blower motor and literally after turning the car back on...the air just comes out the defrost up top. All speeds work but pushing the dials (front, feet, etc) doesn't direct airflow to those areas. Resistor is fine, fuses don't look blown...help 😭😭🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

I have a 97 chevy c1500 and the top of my dash the vent protector broke and small objects got into my vent what's the best way to remove these small objects

09 Volvo S60 / very poor to no airflow out of defroster vents. Dash & floor vents ok. Do you have any thoughts to this problem? Thank You, Great Info :)

My 01' f150 had bad vacuum leak for a/c door, fixed it, vents work now, but driving on freeway the a/c vent air frow goes from strong to very weak, I don't know if there is like a one way air flow thing in vacuum line or what, I have traced the line all of the way and only found the one break,which is now fixed. The truck was completely under water for 6 days when Houston flooded 3 years ago, but the has been in service since then after major cleanup, so I really don't know what it could be because it has been working great for over two years since it was under water, any ideas would be very much appreciated.

I know this video is old but my 05 Duramax has no cabin air filter but the rear seat air flow is weak.... Any help on how to fix it for my kids?

I have a 92 chevy s10, the blower motor is spinning fast, but not much air is coming out of the dash vents, plz help

2014 ram truck 1500, why is air coming out driver side vents not get warm, modulaters are all 3 working, I can switch between the floor,dash and defrost

Hello, I have a 1984 Toyota Celica GTS and the AC works and ita cold, but the air flow is very weak. I put it on the highest level and it feels like it's on one. You can here the blower going and it sounds like it's on the highest but the flow is weak and I know it doesn't have a cabin filter because of the age. Not sure what it can be. Please advice. Thank you for your awesome videos.

Can you upgrade a blower motor to a stronger one?

I wonder if you can diagnose my problem. The a/c blows out cold n fast, unless I'm on a long trip. I'll say 100 miles. Half way the a/c slows down to almost nothing . But if I shut it off for a while n turn it back on its works good but not for long. Any thoughts?

I have a 2015 Audi A3 the middle 2 vents and the windshield defroster nothing comes out, do you know what it could be? the 2 closest to the doors work fine.

My passenger section in my 05 Pathy, there is no air or heat at all. Not sure why

Hey Motorcity, can rear oem motion sensors be installed, not manufacturers installed, on a 2015 dodge ram.

My sons 05 Equinox is broken lol. Defrost is super cold, feet are super cold but once it goes to face...air is hot. Pressure is good all around! Just gets hot on face. Help 🤷

I have a 2006 van E350 blower comes on but no air comes out trying to figure out the problem it doesn't come out none of the vents

Hey buddy I didnfixnthe blower motor but the wires touched now I got no power coming out what can I do

Where is the AC box located on a 2011 Chevy Traverse

I have a 2012 traverse the air comes out the vents in the back of the vehicle not the Dash any suggestions

Help on 2001 mode door not switching

Would it be a fair statement on a 2002 Ford Explorer that if you don't see or hear any difference in the slightly weak airflow between outside air and recirculated, that the recirc door is likely broken and blocking?

What would cause the vents on the passenger side to not blow as strong as the vents on the driver side? (NOTE: This is for a 2003-2007 Honda Accord, both sides blow heat or a/c when set but the only problem is the passenger vents only blows about 50% strength compared to the driver side vents)

Hi, 07 nissan altima recently has weak air flow when turn on AC. If AC is off, the fan working fine, air comes out fine. Turn on AC, it works for few minutes then the air flow becomes weaker and weaker to the point there is no air comes out (whether re-circulated or not), when set the air on high you still hear the motor blowing noise but no air, cool and heat still work because when you turn off AC and just use the fan, air does come cool, or hot depends on the setting of the AC before turned off. New cabin air filter. I am very confused, so it works fine for few min then no air, but if turn off AC and set the fan run only, air does come out strong. Will coolant cause the problem because I recently notice the coolant reservoir is low so I toped it off (buying the coolant from dealer and mixed up wit water as instruction) and it stayed between min and max level since then... please help.

Do you know where the air circulates from when the recirculating button is on? Also where is the air source coming from that is being filtered by the cabin filter? Is it in use only when it is on recirculating? I use my ram for hotshot hauling and I sleep over night in it and so air quality inside is important to me. My 3500 didn’t come with one but I’ll have to modify mine and add a filter which it’s easily done. Thank you for the video!

Can you take apart the expansion valve and clean them or do you have to replace them?

motorcity mechanic I have an 08 Impala the actuator on the passenger side right of the blower motor seems to be out. what's the best way I can get to it all other videos show the one on the dash on the left of the blower motor would appreciate any help thank you

Hey man, we have a Nissan Armada 2005, Blower motor is good, vapirator is good. Here clicking off and on have good air flow through all vents except dash vents. Defrost is normal, feet setting normal but doesn't change when going to main vents. Still blows on feet. Any help would be appreciated

Thanks for the video. One question about air flow. What happens when it works fine until you accelerate and then the air flow, A/C or vent, goes away and returns when you let up on the gas pedal?

The question I have is , first off I own a 94 suburban with only front air. I for the life of me I can't understand why gm built a suburban with only front air? That being said I was wondering if I could put a faster spinning more powerful blower motor into it, because the air is very cold in the high 40s at the vent it just doesn't blow hard enough. Our 97 at the shop blows plenty hard.

I have a 1985 Ford bronco xlt with weak airflow on both a/c and heater. i have nothing stuck in ducts and cant figure it out. door works fine. I have also noticed that when its cool outside the accumulator and lines are frozen. any ideas?

I just took my 2016 Range Rover Evoque in for no airflow, intermittent weak airflow or top vents not blowing. They told me it’s the blower motor. They replaced the blower motor at $3300. Wokred one day. The next day I’m back to the original problem!!! Help! What could it be? I’m assuming something far more simple. Any advice?

Hello David. I love your chanel and where your shop?

My heater is fine but told my backside vents are not open,where are these other vents?

I have a 1991 Cadillac Braun and it only blows air through the bottom vent. Maybe the blower door is broken?

Hello are you local to Detroit? I have a 2003 Chevrolet Impala. It never has blown very hard. I ve changed the air filter a couple years ago. If you are local Id like for you to take a look at it. Thank you, Thomas Hale

hello I have a 2015 ram 3500, and ac turns on but doesn’t blow as it should what should be the first thing to check?

(2006 Dodge Charger 5.7) so I installed almost all new A/C components on my hemi. flushed it refilled freon , I'm still not having enough air flow to the rear seats for my kids.My charger does not have the slot for the cabin air filter. I wonder if this is the reason why ! I decided to take it into my own hands ,tore up the interior blocked front bottom vents.Insulated center console main vent. Air flow increased to the rear ,not like I expected regarding I replaced all A/C components. Any one else have this issue ? NO AIR FLOW TO THE REAR SEATS.

Hola buenos días disculpe usted. Cuando el turbo esta duro el eje variable, el vehículo no revoluciona rápido

Hey man I turn on the ac an it starts blowing hard. Then sputters, blows soft an then hard again. Any advice would be really helpful

I have a 2009 Chevy Silverado 1500. And there is no air blowing out the front vents. But air blows out the defrosters. What could be the problem?

just changed out my heater core ,thermostat and pcv valve but i'm not getting the same heat i used to. the air flow is strong just not as hot any idea what i can do to fix this issue?

I have a 2012 Mitsubishi galant, when I first start the car AC blows fine until the AC been on for over 30 min I get less air from vents but i hear the blower motor full blast.

Hi David. My 2009 Honda Civic has a problem which the company service centers are not able to solve. The AC works perfectly fine for the first 30 mins or so and then the airflow just stops. We can hear the motor blower working fine. But no airflow. After another 20 mins the air flow starts again. This goes on for another few mins and then stops. Got the blower checked. Seems to be fine. Any advise would really help. Thanks.

Ok so please help lol we have replaced my compressor, resistor, already pulled a vacuum and put in Freon and it’s cycling perfectly fine but still have NO AIR AT ALL coming out of the vents. We hooked up the blower motor directly to the battery and it kicks on!!! But when I hook it up to the resistor and put it back in u see the dash it won’t kick on!!! Help!!!! The dials work and turn on the ac and the compressor kicks on so it’s not that

Hey mang , ive got heat coming out driver side vents and good flow but less heat and airflow on driver side vents. Cabin filter good , blend door mode and cabin fresh all function properly, not clicking actuators . Help ! Lol cant have chrysler take all my money , 2012 chrysler 200 3.6